Title: Interview with Victor Steinbrueck - #1

Original format: VHS

Item Id.: spl_ds_vsteinbrueck_02_01

Description: This is part 1 of 10 of an interview with Victor Steinbrueck. This portion of the interview was conducted by Donald Schmechel on October 15, 1984.

Victor Steinbrueck (1911-1985) was a prominent Seattle architect, noted for his leadership in preserving public outdoor space and historic areas such as Pike Place Market and Pioneer Square. Steinbrueck was born in Mandan, North Dakota and his family moved to Seattle in 1913. His father worked as a machinist and was active in local labor unions and his mother was a teacher. Steinbrueck graduated from the University of Washington with his bachelor's degree in architecture in 1935. During the 1930s, Steinbrueck worked for the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps, creating artwork depicting federal projects and life in CCC camps. He later produced multiple books featuring sketches of Seattle scenes. 

Between 1935 and 1937, he began working with private Seattle architectural firms before starting his own practice in 1938. One of his first major jobs was helping to design the Yesler Terrace Housing Project.

During World War II, Steinbrueck served in the Army before returning to Seattle in 1946 and joining the University of Washington architecture faculty. In 1950, Steinbrueck married his first wife, Elaine Worden and the couple eventually had four children together. After divorcing Elaine, he married his second wife, Marjorie Da Silva in 1964. 

Steinbrueck’s architectural designs ranged from creating private family residences to contributing to the design of the Space Needle for the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair.  During the 1960s and 1970s, Steinbrueck led campaigns to help protect and preserve Seattle’s historic buildings which were being threatened by urban development plans. His leadership resulted in the creation of the Pioneer Square Historic District in 1970 and the Pike Place Market Historic District in 1971. Steinbrueck continually advocated for the importance of including thoughtful public spaces in Seattle’s urban landscape. He helped push for a public plaza to be included in the Westlake Center development and also helped to design several public parks including the area that now bears his name at Pike Place Market. 

Part 1 of the interview was filmed on October 15, 1984 and conducted by Donald Schmechel. The remaining portions of the interview were done by Margot Hancock. Parts 2-5 were done on November 17, 1984 and parts 6-10 were done on November 19, 1984. The first part of the interview centers on a discussion around the Westlake Center which was part of a contentious debate over finding a balance between commercial development and public space in downtown Seattle. Steinbrueck led a group that sued to stop the project, leading to a battle over several years that finally ended in 1984, shortly before the interview took place, when the developers agreed to include a public plaza in their design plans. In part 2 of the interview, Steinbrueck discusses his upbringing, family background and early interest in architecture. In part 3, he talks about his career after graduating from school, working on the Yesler Terrace Housing Project, and interest in teaching. Part 4 of the interview covers Steinbrueck’s military experience during World War II and his distaste for the army system. In Part 5, he discusses historic preservation efforts in Pioneer Square. Parts 6, 7 and 8 cover Steinbrueck’s efforts to save Pike Place Market from development and the actions of the Friends of the Market. In Part 9, he discusses additional projects including the White-Henry-Stuart Building, Rainier Tower, and I-5. Part 10 includes discussion of Steinbrueck’s outdoor designs including Betty Bowen Park and Victor Steinbrueck Park (Market Park) at Pike Place Market. 

This interview is part of the Donald Schmechel Oral History Collection. Don Schmechel, who was a member of the Seattle Public Library Foundation board, began this project with Seattle Public Library in 1984, with the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) brought on board as a partner in early 1985. Schmechel himself worked to raise the funding for the project, and volunteered his time to manage the project, and to conduct interviews along with a crew of volunteers. Originally titled the Videotaping Historic Figures (VHF) Program, the project interviewed 91 people, with a portion of the interviews entering the collections of the Seattle Public Library and a portion of them going to MOHAI.The interviews conducted with these Seattle civic, business and cultural leaders in 1985 are valuable first-hand accounts that provide insight into developments taking place in the mid-twentieth century. 

Digitization of this videotape material has been made possible in part by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

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